A Very Kyro Christmas
by El Burrito
Summary: It's Christmas, and holiday spirit abounds in the mansion. Some adore it, some resent it, and others just want to get drunk. Kyro.
1. Chapter 1

Yay! Christmas is on its way. Time for annoying, over the top Christmas spirit in the form of: KYRO!! Yup. This is chapter one in what is potentially a three-parter, if, you know, I get around to writing the other two parts. I meant to post this on December 1 but was busy/forgot. I'm pretty sure it's still December 1 in most of the world. Anyway, enjoy!

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The lawn outside the Institute had a dizzying, almost carnival-like feel to it. That afternoon Logan, Jean, Kurt and Xavier had finished stringing up the Christmas lights, and now the whole school was assembled in the cold, biting air, snow soaking through their boots, to watch as they were turned on.

Unfortunately, something had gone wrong. At any rate, they'd been there for fifteen minutes and it was still pitch black, apart from the torches and lighters held by the students.

Kitty Pryde, who'd lost Jubilee when she'd been chased away by Bobby after stuffing snow down his pants, stumbled through the crowd looking for company.

"OOF!"

She walked straight into a low figure, huddled on the ground.

"Watch where you're going." The snappy order, combined with the steady flicking on and off and on and off of a small flame left no doubt in Kitty's mind who she'd walked into.

"What are you doing on the ground?" she grinned in amusement, safe in the dark where he couldn't see her face. He could hear the smile in her voice though, she realized, but didn't much care. She was having a good night, and having John annoyed at her one _more _day wasn't going to change that.

"Sitting," he replied tightly.

"All by yourself?"

"What does it look like?"

"A big patch of darkness." Kitty squinted into the dark but couldn't see any other vague shapes. "Have you seen Jubilee?"

"No."

"No, really?"

"No." His voice carried a hint of irritation, a tone not uncommon when dealing with him. "Why would I have?"

"I dunno. She's kind of hard to miss."

"Yeah, well, not if you aren't looking."

"You aren't looking?"

"What?" Add resignation to his irritation. His voice was becoming quite crowded.

"Well, it's just… you know… you spend a lot of time looking at Jubes, and pushing her and throwing things at her and shouting to her…"

Kitty would never have had the courage to voice these observations if it weren't for that all-encompassing blackness. Not seeing the expression on John's face as he replied, "What the _fuck _is that supposed to mean?" could only be a good thing.

Kitty, realising she wasn't going to be finding Jubilee anytime soon, flopped into the cold, wet snow beside him. "I dunno. You tell me."

"Alright. That's supposed to mean that I have some sort of crush on Jubilee."

"Yes. It is," Kitty agreed. She'd been at school with John for about two years now, and he pretty much ignored her when she was alone, but when she was with Jubilee he was always nearby, with cutting comments or annoying pranks. Jubilee had that way with most of the boys in the school.

"Fuck off," he replied companionably. She heard him settling back.

"Getting defensive?"

"No. Getting disgusted. I'm not interested in Jubilee."

"Fine, whatever you say." Kitty shoved her hands into the snow, and began moulding a snowball. "I love snow," she sighed romantically.

"I fucking hate it." John sounded as grumpy as he always did.

"No way. There is nothing remotely hateable about snow."

"The painful cold of it, the loss of anything green or cheerful, the constant needing to wear sixteen layers to go out, everything all wet, having to be inside with _them _all the time, all the birds leaving, everything always… what?"

"The _birds _leaving? John 'fuck off' Allerdyce is upset about the _birds _leaving?" Kitty shrieked with laughter, falling back into the snow beside him, wheezing and gasping and brushing at tears in her eyes. She couldn't see his face, but assumed he would be pretty unamused.

She was surprised when his answer held a hint of a smile in it. "What's wrong with birds?"

Kitty rolled onto her side, propping her head up with an elbow, to look at his vague shape, still chuckling. "What's right with them?"

"I dunno. It's just… the birds never left in Australia. And the trees were green all year round. And it was hot almost all year where I lived."

"And you liked it better there?"

"I was used to the heat. It didn't bother me as much as the cold does here."

Kitty was silent a moment. "That's not what I meant." She scooped up some more snow, moulded another ball.

John was silent too. When he finally spoke it was to say, "When are these lights going to be fixed?"

Disappointed with his response, but also slightly relieved, Kitty shrugged. "I dunno."

"I wish they'd hurry up about it. I don't wanna be stuck out here all night."

"Yeah. It's Christmas eve."

"Thanks. Hadn't noticed."

Kitty ignored him. "Are you coming to the party?"

"Fuck no."

"Why? It'll be fun."

"It'll be a lot more fun without me there, and you know it."

Kitty didn't reply. Maybe it would, without Jubilee and John constantly arguing, Piotr looking at him with as much distrust as the gentle boy could work up and John complaining about the music, the decorations and anything else. But still, it was Christmas, and she was sure she wasn't the only one feeling charitable.

"No one will mind. Not tonight. Everyone's in too good a mood."

"Yeah, well I'm not. And I would. Believe it or not, you and the rest of your troop aren't the sort of people I want to hang out with 24/7."

"Who is?" Kitty asked softly.

"John Allerdyce."

"So what have you and John Allerdyce got planned for tonight?"

"Nothing much. Alcohol. Reading. Sleep."

"Don't have too much fun."

"That is fun to me. You of all people should understand."

"Oh, I do. But on Christmas eve?"

"What is it with you and fucking Christmas? It's just another night, one that just happens to fall before the day of commercial fun, of the shops taking your money so you can get presents off people! Anyway, aren't you _Jewish_?"

"Oh, Christmas isn't about religion. It _isn't_," she insisted when John snorted, "Not anymore. But it's not about commercialism either. Not to me. It's about love and getting along and everyone having fun with those that they like best in the world."

"If that's the case," John said slowly, "then why are you sitting in the snow with me?"

Kitty thought about it. Why _was_ she in the snow with grumpy John when she could be with people who shared her enthusiasm for the season? She could hear Jubilee shrieking now; she wouldn't be too hard to find. But she remained with John. Despite the freezing snow creeping through her clothes, she was kind of comfortable, in more ways than one.

"I don't know," she replied honestly. There was a click, and a small flame jumped out of the dark. It grew a little larger. Kitty had the suspicion that he wanted to look at her face. At any rate, the light didn't reach his own, so she had no idea of his expression. It was cheating. She dropped her head to look at the snowball she held, which was beginning to make her fingers ache. She dropped it, and wiped her hands vigorously on her jacket, thrusting them deep into her pockets. Then she paused, and reached out for the flame. He obligingly held it by her skin.

Then they sat in silence. When her fingers were no longer cold, but the skin felt tight, she took them away from the flame and he extinguished it.

At last, a roar went up as the entire, huge mansion suddenly lit up, flashing red, green, blue, yellow… all the colours and shapes that were available. Kitty grinned. It was kind of beautiful, and fitted the season and her mood so well. She glanced at John, his face now visible. He wasn't smiling, but looked thoughtful.

"It's lovely," she whispered. John didn't argue.

"KITTY!" Jubilee suddenly bellowed from somewhere, "Kitty, come here! The party was meant to start ages ago!"

Kitty stood, brushing snow from her clothes. "Come to the party," she tried one last time.

"Stay here with me."

Kitty was taken aback by his offer.

"In the snow?" she smiled.

"In the snow." He was deadly serious.

"KITTY! WHERE ARE YOU? HURRY THE HELL UP!"

She looked down at John, his eyes almost pleading. Then she glanced over at Jubilee, standing in the doorway and looking annoyed. Back to John.

"See you tomorrow," she mumbled, and ran through the heavy snow to her friend, leaving John alone as a tiny speck of dark in the fields of white that he despised so much.


	2. Chapter 2

John was in bed twenty minutes later, with an eighth of a bottle of whisky and a Chuck Palahniuk novel when someone knocked on his door. He froze, hoping they'd go away, but they knocked again.

"Who is it?"

"It's Kitty. Can I come in?"

Fuck. What was she doing here? She'd made it perfectly clear she'd prefer to spend time with that stupid psycho-bitch Jubilee than him.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's locked. And my legs are broken."

A hand phased through the door and turned the knob. He'd forgotten about that. The door opened, and she stood in the doorway, looking nervous.

"What do you want?" he sighed. Was it possible she'd changed her mind? He didn't think she liked him much – if at all – but who _wasn't _preferable to Jubilee?

"Jubilee sent me. We were um, at the party, there's…" She was twisting around trying to get this out, contorting in awkwardness.

"What?"

"It's freezing. We need a fire, so we were hoping you would…"

"_Why_ would I?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Because… I don't know. Never mind. It was stupid. I just…" She turned to leave.

"Wait. I'll do it."

"You will?" She turned back, eyes lit up.

"Yeah, sure. But you have to do something for me."

Suspicion replaced her joy. "What?"

Just what _was _her opinion of him? What on _earth _did she think he wanted? "It's nothing much."

She waited, eyebrows raised.

"Help me break into Logan's liquor cabinet."

Her mouth dropped open. "No way."

"Then no fire."

John didn't know whether it was for Jubilee or what, but within a minute she was stalking down the hall, her jaw set, ahead of him. They hurried up the stairs, to the hallway Logan's room opened off.

"If he catches us…" Kitty was looking anxious.

"You're here to make sure he doesn't. Now check if his room is empty."

Kitty ran lightly across to his door. She glanced at John, who waved her on, and knocked on the door. No reply. She hesitantly stuck her face in, expecting the worst. Nothing. It was empty. She waved to John, who dashed over, grinning. She grabbed his wrist, and they walked through.

Once inside, Kitty lingered nervously by the door as John set about searching the room.

"Keep watch," he hissed to her, opening a cupboard and closing it again when he found nothing, then moving to the kitchen. He rattled around for a few minutes, then reappeared. He searched the living room again. Kitty was still hovering about the entrance. He didn't see why she was so nervous. If Logan came back she could just run. He'd be stuck there with him. And no one in their right mind would see Kitty and John stealing liquor and accuse Kitty of being the ringleader.

"John…"

Oh god. She was about to start a serious conversation. He could tell. "What?"

"About... before. Outside. Why did you ask me to stay?"

Christ. Couldn't she see he didn't want to talk about it? Couldn't she _guess _that, after he threw himself out there and she crushed him like an ant, he might not want to discuss it? What was it with girls? Why didn't they understand how well ignoring things until they went away worked? "Kitty, this _isn't _the time. Just make sure he isn't coming."

"He's not. Look, I'm sorry, and I hope you didn't read anything into my not staying because I like you and-"

"Kitty! Shut up or I'm not lighting your fire!"

Hurt, she turned back to sticking her head out the door and furtively glancing up and down the corridor.

She turned back impatiently. "Hurry up, John! Why are you taking so long?"

"Just shut up and help me- FUCK!"

"_What_?" Big, startled, innocent eyes. The eyes were the least of John's worries. Between the coffee table and the couch, was the large, hairy, prone body of Wolverine. John skipped back, trying to get away from him, and tripped over the coffee table, landing on the ground with a crash.

"John, what are you-?" Frantic hand signals shut Kitty up. John lay perfectly still, watching Logan to make sure he was still asleep. Or unconscious. Whatever.

Then Kitty, showing more courage than he'd thought she had, walked over to him.

"Oh, god." She sounded more worried than scared, "John, he doesn't look good."

John glanced again at him, over his original panic, and had to agree. Logan was pale and his breathing was shallow. "Probably just drunk."

"No, John… we have to do something. We have to wake him up."

"And tell him we were here to steal his alcohol?"

"We can't just leave him."

"Why not? He has that super-healing thing. Besides, it's self-imposed."

"Look, you do what you want. Run away if you like. I'm waking him up." This was new. _Kitty_, filled with scorn for _him_.

"Fine. But let me load up first." Logan was like a liquor cabinet himself. There was a large selection of half-empty bottles around him. John took his pick, stuffing them into his shirt, and turned back to Logan. "So what do we do?"

"I don't know. Let's get him onto the couch."

"What? You thing _we _can lift _him?" _The guy was about two hundred pounds of muscle.

"We have to try." And try they did. With a lot of groaning, and a possible aneurysm, they hauled him onto his beaten brown lounge.

John turned to Kitty. "And?"

She leaned over Logan. "Professor Logan? Professor Logan, are you alright?"

He made no reply. Kitty glanced helplessly to John, who shrugged. She touched his face tentatively. "Wake up, Professor." She looked back to John. Back to Logan. Then she grabbed his nose, held it.

"What are you doing?" John hissed incredulously.

"Waking him up."

Beneath her hand, he snorted, flailed, and sat up. He squinted at them through bewildered, bloodshot eyes. "What are you doing in my room?"

"You were… you didn't look well. We thought you might have-" Kitty looked to John again. Why was she gong to do stupid things like this if she was going to rely on him for help and reassurance so much?

"She thought you were dying or something."

"Ok." He lay back down. "Wait." Sat up. "Why were you in my room in the first place?" His glare ran across Kitty to John, picked out the bottle shaped lumps under his shirt, clinking as he backed away.

"RUN!" Kitty yelled, grabbing his hand. He bolted for the door, one hand protectively resting on the bottles, the other in Kitty's. One of the bottles slipped, sliding down his front, and instinctively he yanked his hand from the girl's and reached to stop it. Then thudded into the door, reeled back. Kitty reached through to pull him after her, and they dashed down the hall. Logan was after them, but very drunk, confused and lacking an ability to run through walls.

They wound up in the entrance hall. The Christmas tree was before them, hundreds of presents at its base, ornaments and lights glittering prettily. Someone else might find it charming. John found the whole thing too conspicuous and showy.

Kitty turned to him. "I think we lost him."

"Great," John replied quickly, hoping she wouldn't use this opportunity to slip in her 'important talk'. "We just have to drop these off at my room and I'll light your damn fire." Much as he hated Jubilee most of the time, it felt good to be needed. They relied on him for something he could do so effortlessly it was like breathing. It made him feel big.

"Yeah, about that…" Kitty paused, "We don't have to, you know, go. I mean, they can cope without a fire. Do you want to maybe… do something?"

She looked at him hopefully. It was her turn. This time she was putting herself out to be hurt, laying everything out. And yes, he wanted to do something. He wanted to take her back to his room and drink with her, or talk with her, or go outside for a walk with her, despite the horrible wet, cold snow and biting air.

He looked at her, her eyes large and earnest. "No thanks, Kitten. Let's just go get this lit so I can go back." And the hurt and disappointment he saw in her eyes reflected the pain he felt himself, that his stupid pride wouldn't let him just hang out with her.

Then he turned, and started up the hall toward the rec room, knowing, despite the fact that he couldn't see her, that Kitty was watching him as he'd watched her earlier. But it didn't offer any of the satisfaction he'd expected.

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** So, I'm a lazy mofo and only got two parts done before Christmas. If you want closure, you'll probably have to wait till next year. Sorry!**


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